A dog trapped in a mine shaft overnight in freezing conditions has been rescued safe and well.
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Rescue crews winched little Archie, a Staffordshire cross Kelpie, from a mineshaft in Bendigo, about 150kms north-west of Melbourne, at 11.31am on Thursday.
After disappearing yesterday - when it is believed he fell down the four-metre deep shaft in the Kangaroo Flat/Maiden Gully area - owners Matthew and Katie Canterford renewed their search for Archie, locating him in the shaft after hearing his barking.
Fire Rescue Victoria's Technical Rescue and Oscar 1 Mines Rescue Team carried out the rescue of Archie, much to the relief of Matthew and Katie.
The couple said they're thinking of changing Archie's name to Lucky after the incident.
"I can't believe we found him," Matthew said.
"We're really lucky with all the emergency services who facilitated the rescue.
"We're so relieved, thank you to everyone. Thank you so much."
Little Archie the rescue dog
Archie was a rescue dog the couple took in about 18 months ago.
"We think he might have been abandoned because he had a few cuts and scratches on his face," Matthew said.
Archie went missing around noon on Wednesday after the Canterfords were taking him on a walk through bushland.
"He must have seen a kangaroo and just took off," Matthew said.
They searched for several hours trying to find Archie.
"Me and the kids searched until 5pm and Matt came home about 8pm because after that it was too dark to see," Katie said.
After dropping his kids off a school on Thursday morning, Matthew resumed the search and calling out his name and 45 minutes later heard Archie's barking, calling out for help.
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Matthew put a call through to emergency services just before 10am and crews were on the scene shortly after.
"Everyone was pretty upset last night, not a lot of sleep. The kids we're hoping they'd hear scratching at the door," Matthew said.
In the end, Archie emerged uninjured from the shaft in a harness and the arms of rescuer Josh King.
Archie was visibly excited to be back on the surface and happy to take pats and hugs from his owners and members of the rescue crews.
CFA District 2 commander Darren Eenjes said the rescue took place on DELWP (Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning) crown land.
"They will investigate later what to do with the shaft to make it safe," Mr Eenjes said.
"We're all just relieved we were able to get him back."
David Chapman
Maddy Fogarty
Reporting to you from Sydney these days, I've come to the big smoke via the rolling hills of Bendigo, Victoria and agricultural plains of Shepparton before that.
Reporting to you from Sydney these days, I've come to the big smoke via the rolling hills of Bendigo, Victoria and agricultural plains of Shepparton before that.
